Great Britain Lead Uniface Trial Badge ND (1730th - 1801) The Loyal and Friendly Society of the Blew and Orange

10.06g. 32mm. UNC. 

Rare unissued lead trial striking, likely produced as a pattern or test piece during manufacture, without finishing or piercing for suspension. The edge remains as-cast, with no evidence of mounting or wearing preparation. 

Obv.: Eight-pointed star with laurel wreath and radiant background. Central escutcheon with lion passant, surrounded by the legend: 

GLO PRI AUG 

Below the star:  

NONDE FICIT ALTES

On plinth: 

QUA DIE NOV. 

Rev.: Crown suspended above a plinth; within the crown - ten arrows arranged vertically with their tips pointing downward toward the base. Surrounding the composition are ribbon-like bands bearing inscriptions: 

QUI INVI DET MI - NOR EST 

VIS UNITA FORTIOR

The Loyal and Friendly Society of the Blew and Orange was founded by officers of the King’s Own Royal Regiment in England between 1733 and 1736 to commemorate the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the Hanoverian succession of 1714. The Society’s activities and symbolism - particularly its blue and orange badge, worn on a ribbon - were directly tied to loyalty to the Protestant monarchy, most notably King William III (William of Orange, originally from the Netherlands).

The Society maintained regimental and royalist traditions that have endured in modern United Kingdom ceremonial practice, especially within English and Scottish military culture. Commemorative events and the wearing of the blue and orange ribbon remain part of British and, in particular, Northern Irish (Ulster unionist and Orange Order) tradition. The annual celebration of the Battle of the Boyne continues to be a major event in Northern Ireland today.

Through the figure of William III, the Society’s heritage also holds symbolic significance for the Netherlands, where the House of Orange remains the royal dynasty. In the mid-18th century, the badge was also worn by British officers stationed in overseas garrisons such as Menorca (now Spain), and in colonial territories including Ireland, the United States, and Canada, as evidenced by portraits and regimental records.

Thus, the history and traditions of the Society of the Blew and Orange are directly linked to the present-day United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain (Menorca), and the United States/Canada through British colonial and military legacy.